This is probably the most beautiful Bible I've ever owned. It's hard to keep my friend's hands off it at church--they keep trying to touch the nice engraved wheat on the cover. I was sceptical about the new NIV, as compared to earlier revisions, but I am very satisfied and would recommend it to others. It seems to be easier to read and, the straightforward but non-rigid text makes me feel like it is that much more applicable to my life today. The biggest difference between this revision and the old one is that many of the masculine pronouns used to reference all of mankind have been changed to gender-neutral pronouns in appropriate cases.